PALM SPRINGS,
Calif.—Although the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) feels
justifiably proud of
its scientific program over the years, ALA Executive
Director Greg Dummer and LabAutomation2010 Program Chair Robyn Rourick both
note that "good
enough" isn't the target at which they are aiming any year—and
certainly not in 2010.

Dummer notes that every
year, "it's really about making sure our curriculum is outstanding. We want to
develop content that is
relevant and important for our audience. So one tactic
we employ is to have ambassadors around the world, recruiting speakers. This
year, for
LabAutomation2010, we also developed strategic partnerships with a
number of sister organizations to roll out marketplace briefings, such as
presenting
the 2009 North American Laboratory Purchasing Trends Report, courtesy of the
Laboratory Products Association."

Among the other new
offerings of note are a pair of new short courses, adds Rourick, a
pharmaceutical consultant in San Diego who has been
involved in LabAutomation
planning for the past couple years and served as associate program chair for
the 2009 event. There are still "the regulars,
" such as Liquid Handling Boot
Camp—A Beginner's Hands-On Introduction to Lab Automation; Biostatistics and
Exploratory Data Analysis; Molecular
Diagnostic Automation; Introduction to Laboratory
Automation; and others, she notes, all of them important and valuable. But
Rourick also points with
pride to the newcomers: Automated Liquid Handling in
Accredited or Forensic Environments and XML for the Laboratory.

Speaking to the first
new offering, Rourick says, "We've been on a real mission for the past five
years or so to bring
in cross-functional areas and draw in new kinds of
attendees."

And speaking to the other, she adds, "computer-based
programming is
always important these days, and

Rourick notes that in
general, the LabAutomation show has been able to boast
that it has a "strong
and sound" scientific program, but also notes that ALA has been diligent over
the years to not only commit to multiple tracks—
realizing that lab automation
involves many different industries and kinds of people—but also to add new
tracks along the way.

Familiar to past
attendees will be the four tracks of Detection and Separation;
Micro- and

Nanotechnologies;
High-Throughput Technologies; and Informatics. Added to the mix for 2010 is
Evolving Applications of Laboratory
Automation, in particular featuring
emphasis on Agriculture and Food for LabAutomation2010.

"With this
fifth track,
we want to look at what is up-and-coming or evolving in lab automation, so that
each year, people can see the increasing connectivity of
so many areas of
industry with lab automation, and within the area of lab automation itself," Rourick
explains. "The thinking is that anyone should
be able to walk into that track
and take something away from it that is valuable, even if they aren't as deeply
embedded in the industry being covered
as other people in attendance."

Among the special educational
sessions, there are several topics
in addition to the Laboratory Products
Association's purchasing report, among them Market Overview: India's Emerging
Pharmaceutical Market; Late
Night With LRIG: Rapid-Fire Innovation Session; The
MF3 Center: Pioneering Commercialization from Academia to Market; and The SiLA
Consortium for
Standardization in Laboratory Automation.

That last offering,
Rourick notes, may be of special
interest to many attendees, as standardization
is an issue that has been very important to the lab automation industry over
the last decade or so.

"The familiarity
component is important with LabAutomation, because it's what allows people to
be
at ease and comfortable when they attend. That is important to encouraging
people to re-attend," Rourick says. "But another major part of the currency
of
the event is found in the special sessions that look at important and evolving
issues like micofluidics and standardization, as well as cutting-edge
issues.
We want people to be able to come away with something from the show no matter
what level they are at in whatever industry they serve, and we
want them to
make real connections each day as they learn from speakers and from each other
in conversations about their businesses and their work.
"

"We consistently left
with an up-to-date understanding of where the
industry is going, in terms
of technology and solutions for lab automation
problems, especially in the drug development and drug discovery spaces," says Clifford
Hoyt, chief
technology officer for Cambridge Research & Instrumentation
(CRi)
, which develops and markets optical imaging systems to advance biomedical
research and molecular-based drug and diagnostic development. "We
exhibited in
the past at LabAutomation, and we found the meeting to be an extraordinary
concentration of thought leaders in this space."

Mixing business and
learning

As important as
the "education" and "experience" aspects of LabAutomation show planning
are, and
as well as the scientific program, special sessions and social events handle
those areas, there is a third "E" that needs to be addressed
each year—and
assessed again after the conclusion of each conference.

"On the exhibition side
of the business, were always listening to our exhibitors," notes Dummer. "Our objective
is to create a productive
exhibit floor experience for the attendees and
exhibitors alike. But as you know, ultimately, delivering solid sales leads is
the key."

This year, he says,
exhibitors had told the Chicago-based ALA that they wanted to see the rollout
of
a marketplace that takes the event beyond the conference to a 365-day
experience.

"So, we're
launching an
online product directory like none other," Dummer says. "We're calling it The
Market Place
for Laboratory Automation, and
one of the things that make it different than
other online product directories is that it will be connected to our wiki,
LabAutopedia."

LabAutopedia is already
getting thousands of visitors every month, he notes, and The Market Place will be the retail side
to ALA's wiki,
linking educational content with the latest products and
services.

"Bringing The Market
Place
into play is a nice amenity for our exhibitors," Dummer says. "They get free
entrance in this inaugural year. If you're not an
exhibitor, you can still get
in for a premium. We'll be working on more long-term pricing strategies as we
go forward."

ALA names $10,000
Innovation Award finalists for
LabAutomation2010

ALA announced Dec. 9 the
top candidates for its
$10,000 Innovation Award at LabAutomation2010, as follows:

The ALA Innovation Award
recognizes LabAutomation2010 podium presenters who put forth work that
demonstrates outstanding innovation and contributes to the exploration of
automation technologies in the laboratory.

"The ALA Innovation
Award continues to recognize the best
and brightest podium presentation at the
LabAutomation Conference and Exhibition," says Dr. Jörg Kutter, who chairs the
ALA Innovation Award Panel of
Judges. "The quality of submissions for this year's
award signifies that LabAutomation continues to serve as the platform for
presenting innovation
in research and technologies from across the field of
laboratory automation."

The award
winner will be
announced Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 12:45 p.m. during the closing plenary session of
the show featuring Bruce Sterling, American science
fiction novelist and former
Twilight Zone
writer and actor.

ALA
chooses eight
start-up companies from around the world for fourth annual program

Eight elite start-up companies from around
the world will be features
for the fourth annual Innovation AveNEW program to be offered by ALA at LabAutomation2010.

Innovation AveNEW's
mission is to offer start-up, entrepreneurial companies operating within the
laboratory automation and
technology field a venue for positive, collaborative
interaction and exposure for their product concept or service offering, notes Dummer. Innovation
AveNEW will be presented in a
specially designated area on the LabAutomation2010 exhibit floor, he adds.

"We're proud to continue
to do our Innovation AveNEW program, which gives a leg-up to eight promising
startups each year,"
Dummer says. "It's a really fun program, and this year the
judging panel has selected start-up companies from Europe, Asia and the United
States.
"

The Innovation AveNEW
program serves to afford emerging, start-up companies the opportunity
to
actively engage and participate in a world-class event by offering the
participants free exhibit space and travel. The program helps participants
to
grow and scale their business as well as directly connects them more than 4,000
purchasing influencers and decision-makers from more than 40
countries. Only a
select few start-up companies are chosen for this program each year.

Once
again this year,
two leading non-profit scientific organizations—BioAlps of Switzerland and
DECHEMA of Germany—have joined
with ALA and have selected one start-up company
each from their respective region of the world to participate.

"Innovation AveNEW has
evolved into an integral part of the LabAutomation2010 exhibit floor with spots
for participation becoming
highly sought after by start-up companies whose
innovative products are advancing the field of laboratory automation," says ALA
President Erik Rubin.
"Innovation AveNEW continues to be an example of ALA's
commitment to blending each of its constituent audiences—academia and
government, technology
users and the technology provider community—and
expanding our association's presence in the global marketplace and emerging
industry sectors."

Last chance for posters

As noted on ALA's Web site, LabAutomation2010 posters
are
still being accepted, with a final deadline of Friday, Jan. 22. The ALA reminds
attendees that all poster presenters must be registered as full
conference,
unless you are academic, government or an exhibitor. Submit your abstract
online. The ALA notes that "The poster program is an effective
way to
communicate your research to colleagues and has become the 'presentation of
choice' for many scientists who present at LabAutomation."

ALA positions for future
with three new board members

In accordance with the
ALA's election policy, the organization's board of directors has identified its
three new board members for acclamation
at LabAutomation2010.

"ALA is pleased
to, once again, welcome three respected and highly qualified individuals as
directors
to the ALA board," says Rubin. "The final
slate of three individuals, including Robyn Rourick, Craig Schulz and Nitin
Sood, strengthens
and diversifies the board and further solidifies it as the
premier professional and scientific society for individuals working within the
field of
laboratory automation."

Rourick brings more than
19 years of analytical chemistry experience,
and most recently, she had focused
extensively in the area of drug discovery and development in the position of
director of pharmaceutical sciences at
Kalypsis Inc. She is currently
self-employed as
a pharmaceutical consultant.

Schulz currently serves
as senior research scientist at Amgen, where he is the lead automation
specialist for process chemistry,
medicinal chemistry, clinical immunology,
PKDM, protein sciences, materials management, process development and peptide
synthesis.

Sood brings a wealth of
business and technology expertise through his experience in senior management
positions in the life-science industry. Sood currently serves as general
manager of the automation solutions business at Agilent Technologies, where he
is
directly responsible for all aspects of business, including research and
development, marketing and global operations. Prior to his current role, Sood
was the general manager of Agilent's microfluidics business.

Working on
LabAutomation2011

Already at work on the
next LabAutomation event, the ALA recently announced the
confirmation of the
first speaker in its plenary line-up for LabAutomation2011, to be held Jan. 29
to Feb 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center in
Palm Springs, Calif. The
speaker is Dr. Chad Mirkin of Northwestern University, director of the
International Institute
for Nanotechnology; the George B. Rathmann professor of
chemistry; and a professor of chemical and biological engineering, biomedical
engineering,
materials science and engineering, and medicine. Mirkin's talk is
tentatively titled, "The Polyvalent Oligonucleotide Nanoparticle Conjugate: A
NewFrontier in Molecular Diagnostics, Intracellular Gene Regulation and
Therapy."

Puttering around
Palm
Springs

Some things to do while
you're in town for LabAutomation,
when you aren't busy learning and networking

Although Palm Springs offers a good location for learning, with its
focus on resorts making it easy for attendees of any convention or conference
to stay close to the show action and not feel shut in, there are things to do
in the larger community and surrounding area. So if you're staying for
any
extra time, or find yourself with time in between activities at
LabAutomation2010, here are a few ideas:

With a miniature
rock-climbing area, a magnetic sculpture wall, make-it-and-take-it-apart
projects, a rope maze, a family center,
and an area for toddlers, this
attraction focuses on iInstructive, hands-on exhibits. Children must be
accompanied by an adult.

Various desert animals
are drawn her
by sparkling springs among 20,000 acres of lush greenery, with an
idyllic palm oasis therein that served as the backdrop for Cecil De Mille's
epic
film, King of Kings.

This memorial honors
those who lost their lives in or endured the atrocities of the Holocaust,
telling their
story through plaques and seven larger-than-life bronze figures resting
upon a double-tiered Star of David 20 feet across.

This home of the
Cahuilla Indians is listed in the National Register of Historic
Places and features
oases and abundant wildlife. Remnants of Native American life include rock art,
house pits and foundations, irrigation ditches,
bedrock mortars, pictographs
and stone houses and shelters built high atop cliff walls.

More than 3000 varieties
of desert plants can be viewed here, including prickly pears, agaves, and
cacti. In addition,
visitors can view Native American artifacts and rock,
crystal and wood formations.

This tramway transports
passengers in rotating cars 2.5 miles from Valley Station in Chino Canyon to
and from Mountain Station at the east
edge of Long Valley, giving riders not
only access to by also great views of the rugged San Jacinto mountains.

After decades spent
documenting the
breadth of desert life, this museum has shifted its focus to
the visual arts. Much like its holdings, the museum building is spare and
modern.
Contemporary American art is the focus, and Californian works get
particular emphasis, along with Native American pieces.

In 1983, after decades
of acquisition, Jim Ruddy
decided to display his extensive collection of
general store memorabilia, much of it dating back to the 1940s. These days,
visitors can step into the
past thanks to his re-imagined but authentic general
store.